Rockbank in the west and Clyde North in the southeast rocketed to No. 1 and No. 3 on the city’s list of strongest performers over the 12 months to January.

Rockbank’s median house price had the largest boost in that time, rising a whopping 47.5 per cent to $281,500, according to CoreLogic.

Clyde North, almost 50km south east of the CBD, surged 36.4 per cent to $432,500.

The median house price in Research, in the city’s northeast, rose 28.2 per cent to $860,000, while middle western suburb Ardeer also had strong growth of 33.3 per cent to $520,000.

Affordable housing, new estates and improving infrastructure have lured buyers to the city’s outer reaches where sales have boomed.

Though CoreLogic head of research Cameron Kusher said some huge leaps in median prices in growth suburbs reflected a supply of new housing.

“Previous medians are based upon pre-existing stock which is of a lower quality and a lower price, while the new stock is a much better quality and higher price which exacerbates the growth,” he said.

Advantage Property Consulting director Frank Valentic said the top suburbs for median house price growth showed a changing of the guard.

“If we looked at five years ago it would have only concentrated on inner suburbs, blue-chip areas would have taken most of the 10 spots,” he said.

“The ripple effect is really having a big effect as housing affordability pushes people further out.”

Rockbank’s Woodlea has proved popular with families for its vast open spaces.Source:Supplied

The area is already building a family-oriented sense of community.Source:Supplied

Mr Valentic said City of Melton suburbs had not notched strong growth over the past 10 years.

But YPA Caroline Springs director Joel Rawle said planned new amenities at Mirvac’s Woodlea estate at Rockbank were drawing buyers in and giving the area new life.

“It’s always been a stagnant area, there are no shopping facilities there, you had to go to CS Square (Caroline Springs) or Woodgrove (Melton),” he said.

“Having that Woodlea development move forward quickly with a lot of parks and so forth has attracted a lot of people.

“There’s no shopping centre yet in Woodlea but there are plans for a town centre so obviously people are moving in there now because they can see long term once those centres go up the prices will go up long term too.”

Mr Rawle said buyers had also been priced out of nearby suburbs including Deer Park, Albion and St Albans.

John and Pritika Naidu moved into their house in Rockbank’s Woodlea estate at the end of last year.

“I’ve got a near-three-year-old daughter and another on the way so we were looking for something that had young family values and that sense of community and that’s how we got drawn here,” Mr Naidu said.